Chinese equities reach one-year-high, signals economy bottom out.

Chinese equities rose 1.02% on Wednesday to close at one-year high after the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said the country's economy has bottomed out, said Xinhua news agency.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 29.6 points, or 1.02%, to close at 2,922.3, the highest close since June 18 last year. The Shenzhen Component Index climbed 255.98 points, or 2.3% to end at 11,381.64.

Gainers outnumbered losers by 654 to 184 in Shanghai and 568 to 163 in Shenzhen.

Total turnover was 217.8 billion yuan ($31.89 billion), expanding by 3.532% from 210.37 billion yuan ($30.80 billion) the previous trading day.

Shares of steel makers gained, boosted by news that a 3-billion-ton iron ore deposit, the largest in Asia, was discovered near Benxi city in northeast China's Liaoning Province, Xinhua said.

Baosteel, the country's biggest steel mill, rose 3% to 7.2 yuan ($1.054). Angang Steel Co, the second-largest, surged 7.42% to 14.18 yuan ($2.076). Shares of Hunan Valin Iron and Steel Group climbed 4.52% to 7.4 yuan ($1.083).

Brokerage company shares rose across the board after the Zhejiang Wanma Group, a cable producer, Tuesday won approval to issue 50 million A-shares in an initial public offering scheduled for July 2.

This was the second such approval, after Guilin Sanjin Pharmaceutical, since the suspension of new listings in September following a steep drop in the key Shanghai index.

Citic Securities added 1.34% to 28.7 yuan ($4.202). Guoyuan Securities rose 2.09% to 18.59 yuan ($2.722). Haitong Securities gained 1.6% to 16.47 yuan ($2.412).

China's gross domestic product (GDP) growth was expected to be almost 8% in the second quarter this year, said an article on the NBS website on Tuesday. The country's GDP grew 6.1% in the first quarter in 2009.

Statistics showed the decline in China's economy has bottomed out, the article said.

(1 yuan = $0.146418733)